00:00Yes, the number of prosecutions for fare evasion on the London Underground and across the network has risen to its highest level for six years.
00:15Transport for London prosecuted 3,691 people on the tube from 24 to 25 and issued over 13,000 penalty notices and 850 warnings.
00:29In the same period, there was a record number of penalties handed out on the London Underground as well, but the number of prosecutions, 3,044, fell by a third on the previous year.
00:44Some 440 warnings were issued. Transport for London says that fare evasion is not a victimless crime and robs Londoners of vital investment back into the city.
00:54I think it was committed to reducing the current rate of fare evasion by one and a half percent by 2030.
01:02The figures were revealed in response to a freedom of information request by the BBC.
01:08The request was made after a video was released in May of Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick of the Conservative Party confronting fare evaders at tube stations.
01:19He was also criticised for not having permission to film at those stations as well.
01:24Now, prosecutions peaked in 2018 to 2019, where there were just under 5,000 prosecutions, and then that dropped the following year to just over 3,000.
01:33And then over the pandemic, prosecutions obviously came to a bit of a halt due to lockdown.
01:40So, do Londoners see many people jumping through barriers, and is there enough of a security presence at stations?
01:50No, not on the platforms. Not at all, actually.
01:54No, I don't think I've seen a lot. I've seen them trying to stop people or question their tickets, but I've never seen anybody trying to push through, I'm afraid.
02:09You do tend, when you do tend to see them, they tend to be in clusters. There's a number of them together.
02:15But then you'll go long spells without seeing anyone at all.
02:18Yeah, I don't see that happen very often, but when I have seen it happen, they get away with it.
02:25Do you think more should be done for people? Do you think it should be strict?
02:31Do you think there should be more people? Do you think there should be more enforcement stopping people from doing anything?
02:35I guess. I guess. As I said, I don't see it that often, but I think there is a general sense that if you want to do that, you're probably going to get away with it.
02:42I think people are nervous.
02:44Really, no. There should be something like a £200 on-the-spot fine, which I think would prevent people from taking the risk and doing it.
02:51People are quite blatant. They do it in broad daylight, in the middle of the day, in busy periods, and they'll just rush through.
